Editor’s Note: Yeah, I know, we got back in the saddle yesterday to try to sense what is coming in this tumultuous year. I have a sense for what is going to happen this week, as the Electoral Summit’s proximity will drive all sorts of entertaining adventures. All the talk about Presidents and who they might be was not part of the organized chaos of a visit from the Commander in Chief. I was only a witness to this one, no speaking part, but the memory of how complicated these things can be makes me thankful someone else is doing them. This is part of the story of USS Forrestal’s 1990 deployment to the Med when the Berlin Wall came down and a lot of things started moving around.

– Vic

Seasick Summit

29 Nov 1989:

Today was a blur. I got up with the knowledge that I had to power straight through the campaign brief and get the thing wrapped up. Generating those damn things was a ritual that went along with national contingencies and proximity to prospective targets. Late start on flight operations due to the Presidential rehearsal. I got down to CVIC (Carrier Intelligence Center) in time to ensure that the 1030 brief went smoothly; all participants were there in person. The Deputy is back from his job interview in Brussels and he meticulously briefed for about a half hour a series of events which (I could easily be wrong) went something like “Launch, go to Marshall, Listen to the Boss, fly by the ship when he tells you, then land.” Maybe it is more complicated than that. I dunno, I’m just a ground-pounder.

They did their thing; supersonic pass by the F-14 rattled the bulkheads all the way down here. Special guest of honor for the rehearsal was the U.S. Ambassador to Malta, the Honorable Ms Somebody-or-Other. Due to the impending Malta Summit, the Presidential helos (three, count ‘em three) were flown out from CONUS via C-5 galaxy and she had the use of one for the day. Staggering! I see why the President wants to contain this thing to a Naval Ship. Based on the circus going on out here, a meeting ashore where the Media could have relatively easy access to everything would be absolute and total chaos.

For example, our distinguished visitor list, excluding the Presidential Party, Staff, Advisors, Secret Service and Press Pool will run to about sixty people. Every Flag or General Officer in the European Theater wants to be here to get a small piece of the reflected power. An amazing spectacle. For example, the politically well-connected Geo-Politician who commands U.S. Naval Forces Europe, ADM Johnathon T. Howe (Pete D. has some
stories about him from CRUD ONE) will be onboard, and, having some time to kill, will drop by CVIC for some contingency briefs after the President departs and he is King again. General Brent Scocroft, the National Security Advisor, may also walk through the spaces. This is a CIRCUS in capital letters. Not to mention the fact that the RADM’s campaign brief is due to be presented tomorrow night at 2000. The deadline is looming and there is too much going on to get to work…

30 Nov: Time was finally found about 0030 this morning. It was one thing after another. Top Secret messages which only I can pick up; a crisis in the access list, which some bureaucrat has taken for action as a FITREP Bullet; because the Ship doesn’t have Air Wing service records, they assumed we had left and eliminated all of us from the access list. Dozens of small problems. Each time I sat down at the typewriter to start pounding out the intricate details of blowing the crap out of a third world infrastructure, someone wanted to brief me into a new program, schedule the Mission Planning space or do something. My patience was running thin. Finally got everyone to bed and out of my hair and plowed back in the Campaign plan. By the time 0330 came and went I had what I thought was a workable plan, copies made for CAG and DCAG to look at and bullets extracted and passed to the able Seaman Berger.
The Troll, as he is known both for his powerful physique and mental outlook, is the only man who understands the Harvard Graphics computer program well enough to make pretty viewgraphs. He is consequently the most popular and powerful man in Mission Planning. In order to make sure CAG had a chance to look at the damn thing, I had to pop out of bed again at 0700L. While I was scraping my face with the razor and looking back at the puffy eyes in the mirror I got the feeling that this was going to be a challenging day.

I delivered the plan to the Big Guys and began to cope with the No-Fly day. Meetings scheduled in Mission Planning all day. I got through till about lunchtime and was seriously dragging. I snuck away to my rack, laid down and the next thing I knew it was 1630.

Time was awasting. I had to brief the plan to the RADM at 2000; I hadn’t seen the corrected copies of the draft, so I had to get moving. Wired up a set of CNT khakis, no ribbons, still crisp from the dry cleaners. Hustled up to Planning and found the documents waiting on the keyboard of the word processor. Very few corrections, just a couple of happy-to-glads, and I was pleased the document seemed to be what they wanted. I had a slightly smaller chance of being blown out of the water. Now, the small matter of finding charts, threat rings and visual aids. Things were coming together about 1930 when I got a call from the Deputy saying they were waiting for me. I looked at my watch, horrified that I had somehow missed the deadline. I never miss deadlines. Instead, I was a victim of the Admiral’s schedule. He had the time, and the time was now. I gathered up my materials and Josh and I went down the corridor to TFCC. I ran through the amount of material I didn’t know and was daunted. Still, time for the game face.

Admiral “Sweetpea” Allen came in and the atmosphere was relatively relaxed. Whatever it is that happens to me before the briefs happened as it always did. Brief went great. Admiral was impressed, CAG and DCAG pleased. I was very happy to have escaped with reputation intact. Several questions about things like targets prioritization and other nits and grits were the only talking points. I even had a footnote indicating NAVSEA needed to add some fictional shipbuilding to tweak our adversaries.

Unfortunately, we are back to the drawing board again on a lot of it. I had hoped to put this action item behind us but no such luck. Next milestone is December 3rd; then another trip to the lion’s den. This has every prospect of being one of those Eternal Action Items. Still, a victory for the day and I awarded myself with Midrats and an early trip to dreamland. The President of the United States tomorrow.

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
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